Greystar has announced the acquisition of Native Communities from Ares Real Estate funds, founder Guy Nixon and management shareholders. The deal is intended to accelerate the growth of Greystar’s third-party property management business throughout Europe. Native currently manages a portfolio of 37 residential and mixed-use assets, totalling more than 9,000 homes across England, Scotland and Wales. This acquisition adds immediate scale to Greystar’s UK operations, which already include 44,000 beds and build-to-rent homes.

The move follows the recent addition of Dublin-based MD Property & Living to the Greystar group. These combined efforts form part of a deliberate strategy to provide a dedicated management service for investors seeking consistency across different living sectors. Mark Allnutt, Executive Director – Europe, Greystar, said: “The acquisition of Native Communities marks an important step in expanding our third-party property management business across Europe. It strengthens our operating depth and enhances our ability to support clients as their portfolios grow across markets and sectors.”

Native’s 177 on-site staff and 47-person corporate team will be merged with Greystar’s third-party management arm. Bobby Faith, Managing Director – Third-Party Property Management, Europe, Greystar, added: “Native has built a highly regarded third-party property management business with strong client relationships and a talented team, and we are excited to bring our organisations together. This transaction accelerates a strategy already underway at Greystar, allowing us to scale third-party property management in a deliberate and disciplined way.”

Guy Nixon, CEO of Native Communities, noted that joining Greystar allows the business to offer clients access to a global rental housing platform. He said: “Native’s success over the past 20 years has been built on a strong focus on execution, service quality and long-term client relationships. Joining Greystar combines those strengths with a global rental housing platform with the scale, experience and infrastructure to strengthen the support we offer to our clients across the UK and Europe.”

Greystar currently manages roughly 1.1 million homes and beds worldwide. To maintain integrity, the firm will operate its third-party management and owned investment portfolios as separate business lines. John Ruane, Partner at Ares, noted that Native has grown from five assets to 37 over the last decade. Greystar aims to continue this expansion by applying its established US management model to the European market.